The AER wishes to notify stakeholders of the forthcoming release of its proposed statement (for electricity transmission) and proposed statement of regulatory intent (for electricity distribution) containing the AER’s proposed WACC parameters for these service providers. The proposed statements, and accompanying explanatory statement, will be released after 4pm AEST on Thursday, 11 December 2008. The statements will be available on the AER’s website.
The National Electricity Rules (NER) provide that the AER may review the WACC parameters to be adopted in determinations by electricity transmission and distribution network service providers. Reviews are to be conducted every five years with the first review concluded by 31 March 2009, at which time the AER will release its final decision for both transmission and distribution. The outcomes of this review will only apply to electricity transmission and distribution determinations where the proposal is submitted after 31 March 2009 and before the completion of the AER’s second review, in 2014. The AER notes that the outcomes of this review will not affect the regulated revenues of any service providers until after mid-2010.
Submissions on the AER’s proposed statements are to be received by COB Wednesday, 28 January 2009. The process for the lodging of submissions will be outlined with the proposed statements. The NER provide that the AER may but is not required to consider any submission received after the time for making submissions has expired. Because the NER require the AER to release its final WACC statements by 31 March 2009, the AER notes that it will be unlikely to be able to fully consider or give full weight to any submission received after this date.
As previously notified, the AER has scheduled a public forum to discuss its proposed WACC parameters and to receive oral submissions from interested parties on Wednesday, 17 December 2008, at the Hilton, Melbourne Airport, commencing at 10am. Interested parties can register to attend the public forum by sending a completed registration form, via email to aerinquiry
aer [dot] gov [dot] au (aerinquiry[at]aer[dot]gov[dot]au) or via fax to 03 9290 1457, by COB Friday, 12 December 2008.
Any enquiries about the forthcoming statements, or the public forum, should be directed to the AER’s Network Regulation South Branch.